


Love Bug

by HapaxLegomenon



Series: The Adventures of Sousuke and The Beetle [2]
Category: Free!
Genre: Attempt at Humor, Challenge: Sports Anime Shipping Olympics | SASO 2015, Gen, Pets, Pyunsuke is still adorable, Sousuke is still embarrassing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-04
Updated: 2015-07-04
Packaged: 2018-04-07 15:59:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,180
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4269396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HapaxLegomenon/pseuds/HapaxLegomenon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sousuke had never wanted a pet. Until he met Pyunsuke.</p><p>Edit and re-post from SASO2015 BR3</p>
            </blockquote>





	Love Bug

**Author's Note:**

> Edited slightly and re-posted from an entry written for the SASO2015 Bonus Round 3.

In all honesty, Sousuke had never wanted a pet.  He’d never had one as a kid, had never really felt the draw of animal companionship the way his friends and classmates seemed to.  He just didn’t really understand why anyone would invest so much time and money and energy into feeding and cleaning up after an animal when they didn’t have to.

That was until he met Pyunsuke.

It was annoying, having to take care of him.  Maintaining the correct level of moisture in the bedding, checking it for mold, keeping the temperature steady, cleaning literal shit off the terrarium walls – it was a lot of work.  Stag beetles were a lot of work.  And they were terrible pets, in Sousuke’s informed opinion.  They were nocturnal, and they could be aggressive, and they had the terribly unfortunate habit of flinging their excrement around.

Still.  His Pyunsuke made it worth it.  Pyunsuke was obviously of a superior breed of beetles, Sousuke decided – he was large and beautiful and not at all aggressive.  Towards Sousuke, anyway.  And he made for an excellent study companion – Sousuke often let Pyunsuke roam around his desk top while he did homework, and Pyunsuke was generally content to quietly explore his binders or soak up the heat from his laptop or crouch sleepily on Sousuke’s wrist.  He was an excellent listener, and he clearly preferred Sousuke to Rin, which was a trait that Sousuke especially appreciated.

The first time Sousuke found Pyunsuke missing from his enclosure, he nearly had a heart attack.  He must have forgotten to replace the cover when he’d changed out the bedding that morning, he realized, trying not to panic.

“I’m a terrible pet owner,” he moaned, searching around the desks, crawling on his hands and knees.  He heard Rin walk in, then stop abruptly, presumably upon seeing Sousuke’s butt and feet sticking out from under his desk.

“Uh.  Sousuke?  What are you doing?”

“I can’t find Pyunsuke.”

“…what?”

“I can’t find him!”

“Did you look in his, uh, dirt?”

Sousuke backed out from under the desk to sit back on his heels and throw Rin his most unimpressed look.  Rin held up his hands.  “Just saying,” he muttered, then he dropped his books on top of his desk.  “Well, good luck with that.”

“Dick,” Sousuke grumbled under his breath.  Rin kicked his ribs lightly, Sousuke half-heartedly grabbing at his foot in retaliation.  Rin dodged him easily, laughing, and went to flop down on his bed.

A second later, there was a metallic swishing sound and Rin sat upright and screeched.  Sousuke looked over just in time to see Pyunsuke come zooming out of Rin’s bed, dodging his flailing arms and making a beeline right for Sousuke’s shirt.  He clung to the front of Sousuke’s chest and flicked his wings indignantly.

“There you are.”  Then:  “You scared him,” he said reproachfully, and Rin gaped, wide-eyed.

“I scared _him_? That thing was in my bed!  I’m pretty sure he scared me more!”

Sousuke smirked.  “Good boy,” he murmured, raising his hand to cup Pyunsuke in his palm.  Pyunsuke climbed up eagerly enough, feathering his antennae over Sousuke’s hand and clicking his mandibles happily.

“That thing’s a monster,” Rin declared.

“Don’t listen to him,” Sousuke said, and Pyunsuke seemed reassured.

 

\--

 

The second time Pyunsuke escaped from his terrarium, he’d somehow scurried under the door and Sousuke found him wandering down the hallway.  Or rather, Pyunsuke had found him.  He’d startled Nitori badly, when he lifted off from the corner on the floor and buzzed straight up to perch on Sousuke’s shoulder. 

“Hey buddy,” Sousuke said.  “What are you doing out here?”  Pyunsuke waved his antennae, then shuffled around to stare at Nitori.

“Um,” Nitori said, shifting uncomfortably.

“It’s fine.  He’s friendly.”

“I know, I mean, because Momo-kun had him in our room for a while, remember?  I just… they’re a little… unsettling, aren’t they?”

Sousuke ruffled Nitori’s hair, and he squeaked.  “They’re not so bad, once you get used to them.”  Pyunsuke wiggled his two front arms in apparent agreement, making himself comfortable in the bunched fabric at Sousuke’s shoulder.  Nitori just smiled hesitantly and hurried away to his own room, babbling something about homework.

“Now,” Sousuke said, “how did you get out of your cage?” 

Beetle firmly on his shoulder, Sousuke inspected the terrarium, and found that the mesh top had been knocked askew, leaving a gap in the corner just large enough for a resourceful stag beetle to squeeze through.

“Did you do that?”  Pyunsuke flicked a wing.  “Hmm.  I might need to get a heavier lid for you.”

 

\--

 

Sousuke quickly came to realize two things: one, that Pyunsuke was much smarter than he’d given him credit for, and Momo probably should have named him Houdini instead; and two, that Pyunsuke had apparently become as embarrassingly attached to Sousuke as Sousuke had to him.  It didn’t surprise him anymore when he returned to his room after class to find Pyunsuke napping on his pillow, or waiting to leap on him when he walked through the door.  At least Pyunsuke had apparently decided that going questing down the hallway was too much of a hassle, and after the first time he never left the bedroom alone.  Sousuke wouldn’t admit it to anyone, but the devotion was rather flattering.  The only other person who could attract Pyunsuke’s attention for any length of time was Momo, but after a few minutes of happy crawling over an equally-happy Momotarou, Pyunsuke always made his way back to Sousuke’s shoe or knee or shoulder.  Soon enough, it became common for Sousuke to have the beetle napping in his jacket pocket during class, and after the first week people stopped staring and whispering when Sousuke showed up to mealtimes with Pyunsuke sitting comfortably on his shoulder.  Pyunsuke had even accompanied Sousuke and Rin on their morning jog once, but had apparently disliked it – the next time Sousuke tried to pick him up while wearing his running clothes, Pyunsuke had nipped at his finger and hidden under a piece of log. 

“This is getting ridiculous,” Rin muttered one evening, uncovering the terrarium to take Pyunsuke out for some exercise.  The beetle liked Rin well enough – Rin, as Sousuke had discovered, liked to drop bits of fruit in the terrarium whenever he had a snack, which immediately put him in Pyunsuke’s good graces.  But still, when Pyunsuke had thoroughly explored Rin’s hands and found them lacking in treats, he’d immediately crawled down Rin’s shirt, across the floor, and halfway up Sousuke’s leg to squat on his thigh.

“I don’t see a problem,” Sousuke said carelessly, gently tracing the back of one finger down Pyunsuke’s carapace as the beetle twitched happily.

“That thing follows you around like a puppy.  It’s weird.  I’m pretty sure stag beetles aren’t supposed to act like that!”

“You’re just jealous,” Sousuke responded, and Rin spluttered.

“I am not!  Why would I be jealous of a _bug_?”

“Because he’s a _special_ bug,” Sousuke said smugly, and Pyunsuke fluttered his wings.

“Oh my god.  You sound like Momo.”

“Shut up.”

**Author's Note:**

> Talk fandom to me on Twitter at [@paxlegomenon](https://twitter.com/paxlegomenon).


End file.
